County To Move Most Of Its Staff To New Facility In 2025
At its November 7 2024 meeting, the County Commission announced its plans to purchase the American Public University building at 393 North Lawrence Street (see image). The Commission intends to use this facility to consolidate various county functions now housed in several buildings in downtown Charles Town and in the Public Services Center in Bardane. The first step of the purchase process was approved during the Commission’s November 7 meeting, with a unanimous vote to authorize the signing of a purchase agreement with American Public University Systems. In the timeline document provided by the County Commission, the next steps include conducting various structural, systems, and environmental inspections of the facility, determining the details of the financing, and executing any necessary updates and reconfiguration of the building to meet the specific needs of the various county departments that will be housed in the facility.
Making The Case For Acquisition
Earlier this year, during the Commission’s June 27 meeting, Laura Kuhn, the Director of Fleet & Facilities Management for the County, provided a comprehensive assessment of the County’s facilities. Her presentation highlighted the costs of utilities, maintenance and major repairs for the County’s existing buildings. The current year utility costs were projected to be $210,000 and maintenance expense was projected to be $290,000. Kuhn applied a 2% inflation factor to estimate a ten-year cost of $2.1 million for utilities and $3.6 million for maintenance. For major repairs, she estimated an outlay of $1 million over the same period. Her bottom line was that the buildings are old, non-functional in many aspects, and the maintenance needs will continue to increase and strain the county’s operating budget.
A Longer Timeline
Kuhn’s presentation in June was part of a discussion that stretches back several years. In 2019, the County Commission explored the option of demolishing the buildings between the historic courthouse and Hunter House on East Washington Street and constructing a new building. According to the timeline provided by Kuhn, the County had engaged an architect to create a design and feasibility study in 2019, but that plan was suspended with the onset of the pandemic.
The West Virginia Supreme Court’s 2023 announcement of the plan to add a fourth magistrate court in Jefferson County reinforced the County’s need to assess its office space. The most reasonable location to expand the Magistrate Court was in the Margaret Building, where the Sheriff’s tax office is located — but the County had no reasonable alternatives to house the tax office if it moved.
The timeline document indicates that by July of 2023, the focus shifted from “build” to “buy” as the most viable option. The County provided several reasons for this shift, including the expense and difficult logistics of re-locating the existing county offices to temporary space if the County were to follow the original plan of reconstruction on the current East Washington Street site.
Adjusting The Space
The County’s initial focus for a building to purchase was 330 North George Street (the “clock” building). The sales listing for that building indicates 45,000 square feet of office space and 114 parking spaces. The timeline document provided by the County at the November 7 meeting indicates that the feasibility study of this option was completed in February 2024 and found that the space was too small to meet the current and future needs of the County. The County then shifted its focus to the larger building at 393 North Lawrence Street, with the analysis of that space completed by August.
Running The Numbers
According to the purchase agreement, the North Lawrence building has 91,600 square feet of interior space and 393 parking spaces. The total acquisition cost is projected at $19.1 million according to information provided in the draft impact fee study released by the Commission on November 13. That works out to $182 per square foot (for comparison, the County provided a cost estimate of $600 per square foot to construct new Class A commercial space construction).
The $19.1 million project amount includes the $16.6 million purchase price for the property, anticipated renovation expenses, furnishing, and professional services fees. The impact fee study (see page 6) indicates a portion of the total cost can be covered by impact fees collected for new growth. The County is currently exploring options for financing $6.6 million of the project cost. If the inspection and financing tasks are successfully completed, the County expects to close the deal in May 2025, followed by renovations and relocation of staff in the following months.
By Steve Pearson